Chapter 120 - 118

"Here we go," Haruka said, eyes locked on the polling updates. Just as expected, Airi's support was already making waves. In just twenty minutes, Natsume's Book of Friends had surged by another 20,000 votes. And that was just the beginning. Most of Airi's fans hadn't even seen her post yet—it was still early. But once they did, it was only a matter of time before the full wave hit. Haruka finally set her phone down and glanced over at Haruki's desk, where scattered tools and a half-finished manuscript lay waiting. "You've been drawing since this morning?" Haruki shrugged, a little drained. "Didn't know you and Airi had something planned. I figured I'd better do whatever I could on my own." He tapped his desk lightly, thoughtful. "But now that she's stepped in... maybe this one last page will tip the scale." The final two days of the contest brought a flood of surprises. First came Kiyoshi's public endorsement of Spiritual Vision. The next day, Airi threw her support behind Natsume's Book of Friends. What had started as a low-key poll was now a full-blown showdown between some of the biggest names in the industry. By nightfall, the 900,000-vote lead Spiritual Vision had held that morning had completely vanished. Now it was a dead heat—only a few thousand votes apart, constantly flip-flopping. One minute Spiritual Vision was ahead, then Natsume pulled in front. At this point, both sides had exhausted every trick. No one could guess how it would end. "Seriously... is this Mizushiro guy really just some newcomer who moved to Tokyo six months ago?" Tatsuya muttered. If he'd lost quietly, no one would've blamed him. But now? After all the attention and campaigning, Now losing would make him a joke. Especially after he'd been talking big in the comments section yesterday. The blowback was going to be rough. "Should we post again?" his assistant asked. "Maybe one more call to action?" "No," Kiyoshi replied calmly. "The first one made waves. A second post? That just looks desperate. Besides—if we push again, Airi will only counter. It'll cancel out." He sighed. "We've done what we can for Tatsuya. The rest is up to fate." --- Haruki never believed in leaving things to fate. He knew exactly where his support came from: half the votes were from fans of Natsume's Book of Friends, the other half from longtime Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance followers. The former group had shown up early. The latter? Quiet. Too quiet. So that morning, he drew something just for them. After finishing the page, he took a photo and opened Fend. He kept the caption short: "To all Kenshin fans—vote for Natsume's Book of Friends!" He attached the page and the voting link. Takumi had been following Mizushiro for over a year, waiting—hoping—for anything related to Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance. He'd read Natsume, but it wasn't really his thing. Too mellow. He preferred swords, scars, and catharsis. So even though he'd seen the poll going around, he hadn't bothered. Until that night. A notification popped up—Mizushiro had posted. "Probably more voting spam," he muttered. But he tapped it anyway. Then he saw the page. Kenshin and Tomoe, walking side by side under blooming cherry blossoms. Her eyes were gentle. Kenshin looked calm. The caption below read: "In a parallel world... their quiet life continues." Takumi stared. You bastard, Mizushiro. You brought her back—just to win a poll? He knew it was bait. Shameless. But it hit him hard. In that moment, nothing else mattered. He clicked the link and voted for Natsume. It was the middle of the night. Not many people were scrolling Fend. But for the ones who saw Mizushiro's update, it felt like a bomb dropping. "Just one page—and I'm crying again. Mizushiro, why would you do this to us?" "You absolute menace. Give us a full arc where Tomoe lives. I'll vote every day, just say the word." "I gave in. Not for Mizushiro—no, I still have standards. But for Tomoe. I need that world where she's happy." The next morning, Tatsuya opened the voting page half-asleep—and froze. What the hell? Natsume's Book of Friends was ahead by 200,000 votes. Two hundred thousand. Overnight. The gap was crushing. He frantically refreshed the page. No change. How? Did another big-name creator jump in? He scoured Fend. After a few minutes, he found the answer. A single manga page? Just... one page? Mizushiro had posted a Remembrance panel, and people had lost their minds? He slumped back in his chair, stunned. He tried to rally his fans one more time. Called in favors. Pushed hard. Barely made a dent. The truth was—everyone who cared had already voted. And the ones who hadn't? No amount of begging was going to change their minds now. "I guess that's it," Kiyoshi said quietly. It stung, but he'd seen it coming. Both manga had strong backing, but Natsume's Book of Friends had that extra spark—more polished, more emotionally resonant. And Mizushiro had never even asked for industry support. He just dropped a single page... and won. Tatsuya had no excuse. "Sometimes," Kiyoshi said, "it's just not your time." By the evening, Natsume led by 400,000 votes. By the following morning, the lead had grown to 650,000. When voting closed, the final tally came in: Natsume's Book of Friends — 6.27 million Spiritual Vision — 5.32 million Third place — 860,000 The author of the third-place manga could only laugh. He'd expected a battle for second—maybe even a shot at first. But this? This was a blowout. Still, most people were satisfied with the outcome. All the major names had jumped in, but in the end, the manga that resonated most had won. Those who backed Mizushiro celebrated. The ones who supported Tatsuya? Not so much. Tatsuya, embarrassed, turned off his phone and avoided everyone. Haruki, meanwhile, finally heard the system's familiar voice: "Congratulations. You've taken first place in the 2020 New Manga Popularity Poll. Reward: One A-Level Lottery Draw." Haruki grinned. Even an unofficial poll was enough to trigger a system reward—and not a small one. An A-rank draw. That meant something. Good to know the system respected hustle. His phone buzzed again. "Congrats on winning," Haruka's voice came through. "All thanks to your help," Haruki replied. "Without Airi's post, I'd have been toast." "Don't sell yourself short," she said. "Even with Airi's help, Spiritual Vision was still ahead on pure illustration quality. You closed the gap with that Remembrance page. Honestly, it's amazing. One post—and your fans just snapped to life." She paused. "By the way, Nexari wants to do an interview with the winners. Interested?" "Interview?" Haruki blinked. "No thanks." Haruka was caught off guard. "You're turning it down?" She hadn't expected that. "Why were you so into this poll then?" "The interview will be on Nexari's homepage for half a month," she added. "It's free promo for Natsume's Book of Friends. You sure you want to skip that?" Haruki hesitated. "...Wait, it's good for promotion?" "Exactly." "...Fine. I'll do it." Haruka sighed. Typical. (TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-atreon.com/Alioth23 for 50+ advanced chapters)